


Meat And Poison

by Sylphidine_Gallimaufry



Series: Tales of Nightmare Dork University [9]
Category: Nightmare Dork University - Fandom, Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: M/M, NDU - Freeform, NDU Stagefright, Nightmare Dork University, War of the Worlds, radio drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-05-14 05:14:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14763287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylphidine_Gallimaufry/pseuds/Sylphidine_Gallimaufry
Summary: Take one unbearably shy college freshman trying to come out of his shell.  Add in his ridiculously overdramatic playwright boyfriend.  Mix in a leavening of mania from finals week. Not a good recipe for a peaceful afternoon get-together.





	Meat And Poison

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LindzEM](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LindzEM/gifts).



“You’re ** _where?_**   Why in the world are you there, Jack?”

There was a tinny burst, then dropout, on Piki’s cellphone, but he thought he heard the words “Pitch” and “scene” in Jack’s dulcet stammer.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that, Jack, can you please repeat–”

Suddenly the volume that had been missing in Jack’s voice surged into a raucous roar, and Piki very nearly dropped the phone, his heart starting to race.  People were  _SCREAMING_  in terror in the background of the place where Jack was.  Without a moment’s hesitation, Piki broke into a panicked run towards the Student Union building, shouting into the phone, “Jack!  ** _JACK!_**  Hang on, I’m on my way—”

His phone gave the sad tone that indicated “ _signal lost”_.  He began to hyperventilate in earnest.  

Piki yanked the glass and chrome outer door open, startling two students who were just about to open it into practically falling into his arms.  Disentangling himself with a blurted apology, he made for the stairwell at a breakneck pace, taking the steps up to the third floor two at a time, pumping his long legs for all they were worth, finally rounding the corner into the long corridor which housed any number of student activity clubs, including the college radio station…

...outside the closed doors of which stood Jack Sickle, his precious Jack, looking perfectly, divinely adorable… and unharmed.

There was no one else in the corridor.

Piki’s knees buckled in reaction as his burst of adrenaline deserted him, and he slid bonelessly into an awkward sitting position on the floor. Jack hurried toward him, his eyes huge and worried.

“P-Piki?  Are you all right? Is there.. Is there anything I can do?  What can I do to help?”

He flopped down on the floor next to the lanky playwright and wrapped his arms around him tightly, practically dragging the taller man into his lap and crooning soothing, indecipherable words to him.  After a startled interval, Piki twisted in Jack’s embrace and stared at him in disbelief over his shades.

“Am ** _*I*_**  all right?  I could ask the same of you!  When it sounded like all the hordes of Hell were chasing you?  Good God, what were you  _ **DOING**_ , Jack?!”

He hated himself for the words the moment they were out of his mouth, despised the warble in his voice; he’d wanted to be heroic and had ended up terrified.  Now Jack would see Piki for the utter failure he was, how little moral fibre he had, such a pathetic scrap of imperfection when compared to his beautiful angel.. He squirmed away from Jack and lowered his head to his knees.  At that angle, the frames of his sunglasses cut cruelly into his cheeks, but he didn’t care.  

He felt cool fingers brushing the nape of his neck, stroking up to the base of his skull. “I didn’t mean to scare you… I wanted to surprise you,” Jack murmured in his ear.  “I thought - I thought it might be fun… for us to d-do something to- together….”

Piki raised his head slowly and listened as Jack haltingly described the radio drama that Pitch had told him about and had suggested he take part in as a way to round out his requirement for a Communications credit.  It was a student-staffed re-enactment of Orson Welles’ infamous broadcast of THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, scheduled for a week before finals.

“They needed extra - extra voices… for the crowd scenes.  They’ve been taping people individually.. Either sp-speaking or.. shouting… or scr- screaming… And then they’re going to loop it and layer it s-s-so it sounds like a real mob…” Jack’s voice trailed off.

 

Piki was still feeling his heart beating harder than it should, but Jack’s gentle petting and reasonable explanation were helping to calm his shredded nerves.  He said quietly, “My dear boy, now it makes sense, and I am flattered that you thought of me.  But Jack, why screaming?  I’m worried you’ll damage your throat, and that wouldn’t be good for your acting career.”

Jack flushed and muttered, “Sometimes it just feels good to… to let things out.  To make up f-f-for times when you wanted to… but.. c-c-couldn’t…”

A vision of the twins’ arctic-tempered, aloof, ever-so-proper mother and their distant, wealth-obsessed father flashed across Piki’s inner eye, followed by an image of one of the blazing rows he’d observed between Pitch and Pitchiner, which seemed to have the result of drawing them closer together.

He had no idea what feelings or experiences, beyond the normal end-of-the-semester stresses,  Jack might have had that necessitated a primal scream catharsis, but now Piki was bound and determined to find out.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by conversations with LindZem on Tumblr and Discord, as well as by memories of my own college radio hijinks.


End file.
